worthless
Americanadjective
adjective
-
without practical value or usefulness
-
without merit; good-for-nothing
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of worthless
Explanation
If you have your antique pearl necklace appraised by a jeweler and learn that it's a worthless fake, you'll be terribly disappointed, since something that's worthless has no monetary value. Use the adjective worthless to describe something that has no use or isn't worth any money. Your old broken-down car, a stamp collection with no value, and your no-good roommate who never cleans and won't pay his share of the rent could all be described as worthless. The roots are the Old English words weorð, "equal in value to," and leas, "devoid of."
Vocabulary lists containing worthless
Power Suffix: -less
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Good Riddance
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But the state has rightly continued to hold out for parcels worth having, arguing that worthless land violated the spirit of the original agreement.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
"If people have no assets then these judgments are worthless because they have nothing to enforce them against. You are just taking them through an exercise of further suffering."
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
Medicines can stop pain, fight cancer and save lives but are worthless if they get lost in the mail, spoil in a hot warehouse or are stuck on a ship.
From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026
Bear Stearns’s funds were leveraged at a 3-to-1 ratio, stuffed with opaque collateralized debt obligations tied to a collapsing housing market, and the assets ultimately proved nearly worthless.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 3, 2026
Everywhere men busied themselves in frivolous and worthless occupations.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
